In-vitro Antibiotic Susceptibility Tests of Bacterial Isolates from Abdominal Wound Infection in a Nigerian Teaching Hospital

Aims: The trend of increasing antibiotic resistance has been reported from various centres. The aim of this study was to look at the pattern of resistance of bacterial isolates from abdominal wound infections and determine its magnitude in a bid to establish appropriate antibiotic stewardship program in the centre.

Study Design: A prospective cross sectional study that looked at pattern of antibiotic susceptibilities in isolated organisms from infected laparotomy wounds.

Place and Duration of Study: Department of Surgery (General Surgery Unit) and Department of Medical microbiology, Federal Teaching Hospital, Gombe; between January 2012 and December 2012.

Methods: All adult patients (eighteen years and above) who had either emergency or elective laparotomy for one indication or the other were recruited into this study. Wound inspection was done on days 3, 5, 7; swabs were taken in infected cases under aseptic condition and processed according to microbiological standards.

Results: Eighty five (38.1%) patients developed wound infection out of the 223 that met the inclusion criteria. This consists of 157 (70.4%) males and 66 (29.6%) females. Their ages ranged between 18 and 80 years. Males developed wound infection more than females. Dirty wounds had the highest infection rate. The most common isolates were Klebsiella spp (34%), Staphylococcus aureus (30.4%) and Proteus spp (19.6%). Multidrug resistance (>50%) to commonly used antibiotics such as amoxicillin-clavulanate, cotrimoxazole and gentamicin were seen in many isolates.

Conclusion: The emergence of multidrug resistant organisms calls for collaborative efforts and judicious use of antimicrobial agents among clinicians.